LOCATION ERBER NV

Established Series
Rev. ELS/JVC
05/2016

ERBER SERIES

The Erber series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in alluvium derived from mixed igneous rocks. Erber soils are on flood plains. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 127 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 12 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Fluvaquentic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Erber loam--rangeland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Az1--0 to 13 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; strong very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; many fine prominent white (10YR 8/1) salt crystals; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

Az2--13 to 15 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate very thin platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; many fine prominent white (10YR 8/1) salt crystals; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 8 cm thick)

Ayz--15 to 33 cm; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; many fine interstitial, and few fine and medium tubular pores; many fine prominent very pale brown (10YR 8/2) salt and gypsum crystals; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick)

C1--33 to 41 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, and few fine roots; few medium interstitial pores; many fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; common fine prominent very pale brown (10YR 8/2) gypsum crystals; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 13 cm thick)

C2--41 to 127 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sand, light gray (10YR 7/1) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine interstitial pores; many medium and coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) and few coarse faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) masses of iron accumulation; few shell fragments; mainly noneffervescent but strongly effervescent in spots; neutral (pH 7.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Churchill County, Nevada; in the Lahontan Valley about 1.8 miles north-northwest of Stillwater; approximately 314 feet south and 320 feet east of the northwest corner of section 6, T. 19 N., R. 31 E.; USGS Stillwater 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 39 degrees 32 minutes 50.71 seconds N. and longitude 118 degrees 33 minutes 17.52 seconds W., WGS84 Decimal Degrees 39.5474194 latitude, -118.555000 longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: These soils are normally saturated in the moisture control section during spring months except where artificially drained; Short seasonal periods of aquic soil moisture regime under natural conditions.
Mean annual soil temperature: 12 to 14 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 20 to 41 cm.
Depth to the 2C horizon: 20 to 51 cm.
Reaction - Neutral to strongly alkaline.
Effervescence: Noneffervescent through strongly effervescent.
Salinity (EC): Mostly 16 to 32 mmhos/cm, but some areas are reclaimed of soluble salts.
Gypsum content: 0 to 5 percent.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 2 to 8 percent.

A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y.
Value: 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry.
Chroma: 1 or 2, dry or moist.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.

C1 horizon
Texture: Sand, silt loam, or very fine sandy loam with some stratification of fine sand.
Clay content: 0 to 25 percent.
Redoximorphic features: Few through many, faint through prominent, fine through coarse redox concentrations of iron.
Other features: Horizon boundaries to unconformable sand can be irregular or broken but are usually smooth or wavy where the discontinuities are within 25 cm of the surface.

C2 horizon
Texture: Sand or clay.
Redoximorphic features: Few through many, faint through prominent, fine through coarse redox concentrations of iron.
Other features: Fine-textured horizons may represent lacustrine deposits in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Blackloup, Gravelton, and Prochaska series.

These soils have a more persistent aquic moisture regime and do not have soluble sodium salts or gypsum.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Erber soils are on flood plains. These soils formed in alluvium derived from mixed igneous rocks such as granite, basalt, and andesite. Slopes are 0 to 1 percent. Elevations range from 1158 to 1219 meters. The climate is arid with cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 100 to 150 mm, the mean annual temperature is 11 to 13 degrees C., and the frost-free period is 120 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bunejug, Carson, and Swope soils. Bunejug soils are coarse-loamy. Carson soils are very-fine. Swope soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained; high saturated hydraulic conductivity. Endosaturation is present with an apparent seasonal high water table between 3 and 5 feet (moderately deep and deep free water occurrence classes) between July and September. Cumulative annual duration class is Common. Most areas of this soil have been drained for cultivation.

USE AND VEGETATION: Erber soils are cultivated and are in irrigated pastures. The native vegetation in virgin areas is mainly black greasewood and inland saltgrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nevada. These soils are not extensive with about 7,400 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 27.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Churchill County (Fallon-Fernley Area), Nevada, 1971.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 33 cm (Az1, Az2, and Az3 horizons).
Endosaturation feature - The condition of ground water with an upper boundary between 91 and 152 cm at certain times during normal years (part of the C2 horizon).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 25 to 100 cm (C1 horizon and parts of the Ayz and C2 horizons).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.